Indian badminton got hit before the universal sports performance, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. That was caused by Flandy Limpele resigning as Chirag Shetty / Satwiksairaj Rankireddy’s men’s doubles coach.
In 2019, the BAI (Badminton Association of India) appointed Limpele as the men’s doubles coach to replace Tam Kim Her from Malaysia in March 2019. In the hands of Flandy Limpele, Shetty / Rankireddy’s men’s doubles experienced rapid progress.
In its official statement, BAI said Limpele resigned from his position as Indian men’s doubles coach for family reasons. The former Indonesian men’s doubles partner with Eng Hian arrived back in Indonesia on Saturday (7/3/2020).
When asked whether the Indian players’ behavior caused him to withdraw, Flandy said that was not the reason. According to Flandy, this is solely due to personal matters. Some time ago, Flandy had criticized the behavior of Indian players who were lacked of teamwork that hampered the progress of double numbers in the country.
In October last year, the double Shetty / Rankireddy stole the attention of badminton lovers, when they broke through the final of the BWF French Open tournament. But unfortunately, in the final category of the Super 750 tournament, they were defeated by Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo / Marcus Fernaldi Gideon from Indonesia.
Shetty / Rankireddy even became the first men’s doubles of India who could break through the final of the BWF in the Super 750 category. Shetty / Rankireddy’s trip to the final included eliminating Indonesian men’s doubles, Hendra Setiawan / Muhammad Ahsan in the round of 16.
The reappearance of their rays at the French Open was a moment of awakening for the world’s 10th ranked double. Because after winning the 2019 Thailand Open (Super 500) tournament they had failed (mediocre results) in three consecutive tournaments.
For three months after winning the Thailand Open, their names seemed to disappear. That was caused by both injuries. Shetty felt pain in her muscles, while Rankireddy on his shoulder. After recovering, they have not yet achieved good results. Only at the French Open did they become finalists.
When asked, what factors caused them to perform brilliantly at the French Open. They mention because of the coach, Flandy Limpele. According to them, before the French Open they continued to work hard with a new trainer from Indonesia, Flandy Limpele. “And everything went smoothly,” Rankireddy said. According to them, coaches pay attention to fitness and other factors that really help them.
Since the French Open finalists, they began to think about playing at the Olympics. But they admit they do not want to be burdened with that target.
Flandy Limpele is not the only Indian coach to resign before his term ends.There are three other people. Tan Kim Her laid down his position one and a half years before the end of his term.
Mulyo Handoyo, from Indonesia, also retired as a men’s singles coach in 2017. Handoyo then became a coach in Singapore. Kim Ji-hyun, from South Korea also resigned in September 2019. Ji-hyun gave P.V. Sindhu gold medal from the Basel World Championships last August.
Shetty said Limpele’s resignation was a step back for them because the Olympics were only 4 months away.
